Hanna said if only she was bigger like me, like way bigger, like big, big, BIG she could wear one of my old fashioned shirts.

Then after taking the kids skating, Greg asked how our morning was and I said something like, “My knee is giving me bothers.”

Hanna said she was going to watch a baby deer being born on the internet while Chloe screamed in my face, “Forget the green!” repeatedly. Ellie screamed in the other ear, “She’s saying ‘look at the green!’” (Duh implied though I still have no idea what either of them were yelling about)

I really needed a pick-me-up.

I took the girls to Dollarama to replenish our art supplies; glitter glue, canvases for original paintings, construction paper.

And then it happened.

After we had removed twelve pairs of snow pants, random gloves, two skating helmets (one of them was left at the rink) and other miscellaneous half frozen winter wardrobe essentials, I unpacked the Dollarama treasures.

If ever there was a better sign that said, Liz, we honour you, it was this.

Wrapped in recycled toilet paper, smelling like a fishing boat, amidst the stickers made of toxic glue and lead paint, cups made entirely of BPA, “silicon” spatulas whose life span would last just as long as it would take to scrape one bowl width of batter, one time, was something that would make me stop and smile and ask a fairly obvious question, “How the hell did that get into my bag?”